Welcome to the AC Tropical Fish aquarium forum. Our aquarium forum is the place to discuss any aquarium related issue in a friendly environment. Our aquarium forum welcomes aquarists of all levels from beginners to experts. Please ask a question in the how to section of our forum or read the FAQ section if you have any questions. register to and become a part of our friendly aquarium forum community today.

What size pump to run tank?

0

I have a 55 gallon tank with a 5 gallon wet/dry filter. The current pump is a submergible Rio which I am not happy with the life span. How many gallons an hour do I really need? It is currently freshwater but, I would still like the option to switch back to salt. My 2 current top choices are the Mag 5 and Mag 7 from Mag Drive. Any other suggestions?

I have a 2 tanks I am preparing to setup one 30 gallon long one 55 gallon.
Both will be community tanks with fish from Amazon region (tetras, angels, guarami's). How many gph would I need for each tank?

I am no expert on saltwater but a saltwater setup need considerable more filtration that a freshwater one. Your setup now will do good with a 120-180 gallon/hour filter but you would likely need a larger if you decide to turn back to salt water. . A filter that works in both types of setups would be much more expensive and if you think you will keep it as a fresh water tank for 1 year or so it can be better to get a cheaper oine just for freshwater now and get one suitable for the salt setup you want when you decide to geta salt setup.

(Snip)...A filter that works in both types of setups would be much more expensive...

I have a filter for both salt and fresh since the tank was previously salt. What I need is a pump that is capable of both, for salt water I thought the rule was 10x per hour but I am not sure, what is the general rule for fresh or is there one.